Australians will have another chance to vote on whether to become a republic as a result of the Labour Party gaining a 22-seat majority in the general election. New Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised a referendum.
Australia shares an hereditary head of state with Britain. In the 1999 referendum Australians voted 55 to 45 per cent not to change the constitution to allow the people to choose an Australian to hold their chief public office. Commentators attributed this defeat to disagreements among republicans on whether the head of state should be directly elected by the people.
Mr. Rudd has not said how soon the referendum will be.